• The name “mangosteen” originated from the Malay word manggis, which is a word that arose from the interaction between Malay and Mandarin. One belief is that the word manggis was originally an Indonesian word that was adopted as a Hokkien (Minnan) term, “芒吉”. Mangosteen is known in Mandarin as “山竹”.
• The origins of the fruit are unknown, but one belief is that mangosteens originated from the Sunda and Maluku Islands. Wild mangosteens are also found in Kemaman in Terengganu, Malaysia. First discovered by European settlers in Southeast Asia, they are mainly grown in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Some scholars believe that mangosteens were first cultivated in Thailand or Myanmar.
• Mangosteen trees are large trees that can grow up to 15 meters in height and have oval leaves and red flowers.
• It is said that around the year 1890, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom found the flesh of the mangosteen so delicious that she offered a knighthood to anyone who could bring her the fruit. This was how it came to be known as the “Queen of Fruits”.
• Since 1965, mangosteen has been cultivated in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore on a large scale.

Many people like to eat durians with mangosteens because mangosteens are considered a neutral fruit that is slightly “cooling”. They are also believed to have the effect of reducing dryness, and of cooling and relieving heat. Therefore, eating a few mangosteens after consuming durians is a good way to neutralise the heaty properties of the durian. (Lianhe Wanbao, 30/5/2015)

莽吉柿 (Mainland China), 倒捻子 (Mainland China), 山竺 (Malaysia)

• The scientific name given to the mangosteen is garcinia mangostana.
• Mangosteens were planted in Sri Lanka around the 1800s and introduced into greenhouses in England in 1855. Mangosteen was introduced from the Royal Botanic Gardens to Trinidad between 1850 and 1860, and the first fruit was borne in 1875. In 1881, mangosteen was planted in India, and appeared in Central and South America in 1903. In 1924, mangosteen was discovered growing in Ecuador.